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–Not graded
History · Baldwin

Baldwin dates to 1813, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1860.

1813founded
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Baldwin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Baldwin began

When was Baldwin founded?

1813

Baldwin dates its founding to 1813 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 918 in 18602020 census: 812213 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓

What stands out about Baldwin’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Baldwin, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1969. Watch Baldwin change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1813: 213 years of Baldwin.Old housesHalf of Baldwin’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Baldwin had its own post office from 1831 to 1864. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Baldwin
1831–1864
North Chemung
1843–1909
South Chemung
1849–1851
Hicks
1871–1911
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HicksNorth Chemung
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Baldwin
HicksNorth ChemungWacomber

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Baldwin on the map, 1902 to 1969

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Baldwin. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Baldwin on the 1902 USGS mapBaldwin on the 1954 USGS mapBaldwin on the 1969 USGS map1902Waverly sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Baldwin.

Timeline

Baldwin, 1813 to 1974

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1813
    FoundingBaldwin is established
  3. 1831Post officeThe Baldwin post office opens
  4. 1843Post officeThe North Chemung post office opens
  5. 1849Post officeThe South Chemung post office opens
  6. 1851Post officeThe South Chemung post office closes
  7. 1864Post officeThe Baldwin post office closes
  8. 1869In the archiveBaldwin Subscriber's Business Directory; Baldwin (Township); North Chemung (Village)
  9. 1873In the archiveSouth part of Hempstead, Queens Co. L.I
  10. 20th century
  11. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1909In the archiveMerrick Road, Freeport, Long Island, N.Y., 1909
  13. 1909Post officeThe North Chemung post office closes
  14. 1917In the archiveNew York - Amagansett through Blue Point
  15. 1929Born hereRobert Walker is born here
  16. 1958In the archiveLong Island Lighting Co., 230 Old Country Road, Mineola, Long Island. LOC gsc.5a25972
  17. 1974Born hereSour Shoes is born here
The story

How Baldwin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Baldwin.

Read it all →

While it is most likely that hunters and trappers passed through the area in earlier years, Baldwin was first settled around 1813, credit given to Charles and Warren Granger as being the first white settlers to the area. The brothers put down roots on what was first called "Hammond Corners" and would later become North Chemung. The trek to their new home would have been difficult, due in part to thick virgin forest and ravines as well as swampland thick with underbrush.

ChaptersEarly settlementEarly firstsHistory as a town

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Baldwin in 1907

Passages that mention Baldwin, cut from the printed page as they were published.

— First settlers in town of Baldwin, Charles and Warren Granger. 1815 — First settler in Erin, Basil Sperry.
A brief history of Chemung county, New York1907 · page 100Read the page →
Read the text

— First settlers in town of Baldwin, Charles and Warren Granger. 1815 — First settler in Erin, Basil Sperry.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
organized a Union School in 1882, which is in charge of a Board of Education. The institution flourished from the start, and it is one of the most popular and favorite public interests of the town. In Baldwin a school-house was built at "Hammond's Corners" in 1852. In Catlin the first schoolhouse w…
A brief history of Chemung county, New York1907 · page 71Read the page →
Read the text

organized a Union School in 1882, which is in charge of a Board of Education. The institution flourished from the start, and it is one of the most popular and favorite public interests of the town. In Baldwin a school-house was built at "Hammond's Corners" in 1852. In Catlin the first schoolhouse was built in 1820. There are now in the township eleven school-houses and parts of three districts.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Baldwin, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1910s5 items
Baldwin Subscriber's Business Directory; Baldwin (Township); North Chemung (Village)1869Baldwin Subscriber's Business Directory; Baldwin (Tow…South part of Hempstead, Queens Co. L.I1873South part of Hempstead, Queens Co. L.IMapMerrick Road, Freeport, Long Island, N.Y., 19091909Merrick Road, Freeport, Long Island, N.Y., 1909New York - Amagansett through Blue Point1917New York - Amagansett through Blue PointNew York - Amagansett through Blue Point1917New York - Amagansett through Blue Point
1920s–1940snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1950s2 items
Long Island Lighting Co., 230 Old Country Road, Mineola, Long Island. LOC gsc.5a259721958Long Island Lighting Co., 230 Old Country Road, Mineo…Long Island Lighting Co., 230 Old Country Road, Mineola, Long Island. LOC gsc.5a259721958Long Island Lighting Co., 230 Old Country Road, Mineo…
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
GS Kellogg House; Baldwin, NY-22017GS Kellogg House; Baldwin, NY-2GS Kellogg House; Baldwin, NY-12017GS Kellogg House; Baldwin, NY-1Sunrise National Bank Building;2014Sunrise National Bank Building;Baldwin Bay pano 012012Baldwin Bay pano 01Baldwin high school2008Baldwin high school
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Baldwin Subscriber's Business Directory; Baldwin (Township); North Chemung (Village)
Retake this viewBaldwin Subscriber's Business Directory; Baldwin (Township); North Chemung (Village), 1869

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Baldwin’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Baldwin, census by census

02004006008001,000190019502000Peak: 969

Between 457 and 969 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Baldwin’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Baldwin

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Robert WalkerAmerican Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy · b. 1929
Sour ShoesAmerican impressionist and parody artist · b. 1974
Help out

Finish Baldwin’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBaldwin Subscriber's Business Directory…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Chemung3 historic placesA−Elmira1 historic placeBVan EttenIts storyB−Erin1 historic placeB+Barton5 historic placesA

Questions about Baldwin’s history

What year was Baldwin founded?

In 1813, according to Wikidata. Baldwin’s post office opened in 1831, and the census of 1860 counted 918 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.